2016] The Protection of Stateless Persons in Australian Law 455 Despite ratifying the core treaties decades ago, Australia continues to fail to respond to the protection needs of stateless persons who arrive in Australia. While many stateless persons undoubtedly benefit from protection in Australian law pursuant to the Refugee Convention, this is not the solution for all stateless persons since statelessness on its own is not a ground for refugee protection. As the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, has observed, ‘[s]tatelessness is a profound violation of an individual’s human rights.’292 In this article, we have highlighted the importance of greater understanding and awareness of stateless persons in Australia, especially as a human rights issue, and have identified the need for a comprehensive mapping exercise. Most importantly, however, we have explained why Australia should adopt a dedicated procedure for the identification and conferral of legal status on stateless persons in Australia. As Guterres has also said, it is ‘deeply unethical to perpetuate the pain [statelessness] causes when solutions are so clearly within reach.’293 The creation of a statelessness status determination procedure to provide stateless persons in Australia with a legal status is one such solution. 292 UNHCR, Global Action Plan, above n 35 (inside front cover). 293 Ibid.